Stage Kisses
by LittleMonsoon
Summary: Luan comes to realize the depths of her feelings towards her friend Benny as she helps him rehearse for an upcoming school play.


_**AN:** This is set in the time in-between _L is for Love _and the flashback in that episode to when Luan and Benny met as mimes in the school hallway, which I'm assuming was their first time running into each other._

* * *

Stage Kisses

A moon with a human face was painted on the wall of Benny's bedroom. The first time Luan saw it she couldn't help but laugh out loud at its ridiculous visage, its features warped and exaggerated either due to a strange stylistic choice or because it was painted by an unskilled artist. Oddly human lips and eyes were slapped onto its round head. Or rather "eye," seeing as only one was visible. The other had what looked like a silver canister (what, exactly, it was, Luan didn't know) jutting forth from the socket.

Odd as it was, there was something Luan found charming about it, and it radiated a warm kind of benevolent energy. She wondered what it would be like to sleep under its watchful gaze, in the bed that Benny slept in.

She found herself fantasizing more and more about being in that bed.

His room, while undeniably cozy, was otherwise very spare and free of decoration, aside from the cork board in the corner onto which the playbills from countless amateur theater productions were pinned with a rainbow selection of colored thumbtacks. Not all that much bigger that the linen closet that Lincoln slept in, the room also contained a small dresser, a window, and an ancient-looking wood-paneled television on a small cabinet just across the bed. Beneath her feet was a carpeted floor one shade of brown lighter than its owner's hair.

Luan saw these things as though underwater, through the foggy haze of the tears that had welled up in her eyes. She blinked once to let those tears fall down her cheeks, and when she opened them again she saw him clear as day. Him with his auburn hair that curled like fleece and peach colored face that was nearly as round as the one painted on his wall. Upon that face, several emotions were written; fury, regret, and overwhelming sadness. It was almost impressive how much he was able to convey.

"Do you love me?" she asked, voice broken and cracked. His eyes glanced around as though in deep thought as he struggled to produce an answer. "Do. You. Love. Me?" she repeated, much more forcefully, beating at her chest with her fist with each syllable.

His darting eyes settled down and stared into hers, and a pregnant pause followed, one that was much too long to just be for dramatic effect.

"…dang it," he whispered meekly under his breath, and at once the illusion was shattered. He frantically ran to his backpack tossed haphazardly onto the floor nearby, unzipped it, and pulled out his script, flipping through the pages until he reached the end of act II. He found the line he was looking for and repeated it quietly to himself over and over with his eyes shut tight, as though he were trying to inscribe the words onto the inside of his eyelids.

Luan, meanwhile, took this as an opportunity to relax. All of the tension in her body dissipated as she brushed away her crocodile tears and dried her face. Acting sure could take a lot out of a person. "No no, take your time, it's not like this is the most emotional scene in the entire play or anything," she sarcastically said with a cheeky smile, but he wasn't paying attention to any of her teasing. She admired Benny by the bed, trying so hard to memorize all his lines so he could give a good performance for the bored parents and their restless children who would come to the Fall play in another month's time.

They didn't deserve an actor with such dedication. Nobody in the drama department put in nearly as much effort as he did into putting on a good show.

Funny though; he had never stumbled over his lines during after-school rehearsals, when the whole cast was crowded up on stage. Was there something about being alone with her that made him all tongue-tied and flustered and made it hard for him to concentrate? She hoped that was the case.

As soon as he was confident that he had his lines memorized, he returned to the scene as though nothing had happened, took a deep breath, and all of a sudden was back in character as King Arthur. Luan's smile disappeared as she too retreated back into her role, that of Guinevere. Together they made up the lead protagonists in the oh-so-imaginatively named _Arthur and Guinevere_ , an original play written up by Mrs Burke, the high school drama teacher.

A radical retelling of Arthurian legend, _Arthur and Guinevere_ streamlined characters and conflicts to focus on the romantic relationship between the king and his queen. Gone were most of the knights of the round table, who's most famous adventures were reattributed to Arthur himself. Gone as well were any depictions of infidelity or sex or violence. It was, after all, intended to be enjoyed by young audiences.

A dragon was shoehorned into the plot for good measure.

Luan didn't really see the appeal herself, but she wasn't complaining, especially now that Benny had asked for her help in nursing and rehearsing his part. Ordinarily he'd be practicing with Jody Lewis, one of Luan's classmates and the girl who had actually been cast as the female lead, but seeing as she was sick that day it fell to her to be her stand in.

"Do you love me?" she said a third time, and at last Benny was able to fire back with no hesitation.

"How can you ask that?" he said, almost yelling but not quite. Either it was an acting choice or because he didn't want to disturb any of the other residents of his apartment building, but whatever the case she quite liked the result. A bit histrionic for her taste, but hey, he did once tell her that stage-acting was all about playing to the cheap seats. "'Twas for you I searched for the holy grail. 'Twas for you I founded Camelot. 'Twas for you I wielded Excalibur and plunged it into the hearts of thine enemies."

Were she not so deeply embedded within her character, Luan would have rolled her eyes. _Such cheesy dialogue._ It was no wonder Mrs Burke was a high school drama teacher and not a professional playwright. "You love that sword far more than you've ever loved me. Always galavanting about on your adventures with it, leaving me behind in Tintagel Castle, all cold and damp."

A beat followed in which all they did was stare tensely at each other. Then, with a pained groan like he were ripping a limb from his body, he mimed unsheathing a sword from his belt (the actual prop was kept stored in a closet backstage the high school auditorium) and tossed it with great effort towards the direction of his window. In the actual play, there'd be a painted backdrop of a massive lake ( _special thanks to the art club_ ) for it to land with a splash in. For now Luan just had to use her imagination.

"Let the lady in the lake have her accursed sword back," he said dramatically. Some might argue melodramatically. "You, my lady, have a far greater prize; my love."

He stepped nearer to her, slowly, until they were only inches apart and she could feel his warm breath on her face, which had started to redden around the time he said that he loved her and was now a bright shade of pink. He brought his hand to the side of that blushing cheek and placed his thumb over her lips in preparation for a stage kiss.

Could what she was feeling still be attributed to acting? After all, there was nothing conscious about her blush or the way her heart was racing or the tilt-a-whirl sensation in her stomach that arrived alongside his touch. Likewise, she wondered if it was Benny or Arthur who so nervously approached her and gazed so longingly into her eyes. Was his shy hesitation genuine or merely another acting choice? If it was the latter, he was an even better actor than she thought.

He leaned in slowly and Luan shut her eyes, awaiting the subtle pressure of his lips on hers that she knew she'd be able to feel even with his thumb as a buffer between them, yet just as he was only an inch away from making contact she felt a whish of air before her face that could only have come from him stepping back. She reopened her eyes and her suspicion was confirmed; he had retreated away and was now standing proudly with his hands on his hips, breaking character completely. "And then we kiss!" he announced, choosing to spell it out rather than actually go through with it. "Then the curtains go down and the audience erupts in great big applause and we all step out and take a bow…"

Luan, never one to turn away from contributing towards a bit, shook the confusion at this turn of events from her mind ( _or was it disappointment_ ) and picked up where he left off. "People start throwing roses on the stage and shouting for an encore…"

"There's a big time Hollywood casting director in the front row who's frantically calling his agent and saying he's found the lead for his next movie…"

"And when they offer you the part you say 'aw gee thanks but I've already accepted a role in the new Sondheim musical on Broadway, and ya know I'm really more about the stage than the screen, so thanks but no thanks but tell ya what I'll have my people call your people in case something comes up…"

The sheer absurdity of the scenario became too much for him, and Benny started to laugh that honking goose-like laughter of his that he once was ashamed to indulge in but that she had helped him grow to love. Luan was a firm believer that there was no such thing as an ugly laugh when it came from a place of genuine happiness, but she had to admit that it always took her somewhat by surprise to see such a boisterous sound coming from such a lanky boy. Still, it was infectious just the same, and soon they were both chuckling alongside each other.

Once it died down, he took his script once more and looked again through its pages, scoffing a little at the sight of it. "Such a lame scene…" he said, more to himself than anything.

"Yeah, it's no _Camelot_ , that's for sure," she agreed. "You were pretty good though. 'Really elevated the material."

"Really? You think so?" he hurriedly asked. Clearly, he didn't believe it himself. "Any critiques? Anything to improve on?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Maybe you could tone down the anger just a _tiny_ bit towards the end there." To illustrate, she held her fingertips a hair's length apart, though really there was only one suggestion she truly wanted him to follow through on. "Also, you can go through with the kissing part if ya want." She took care to drop the suggestion as casually as possible, like it didn't even matter to her and was only being said as a means of helping him with his acting. After all, it wasn't like she could come right out and tell her friend that she wanted to feel his face so close to her's. In pretending that she didn't care one way or the other, she was putting on a good performance herself.

He rubbed at the back of his head and looked away, too awkward to make eye contact now that such a subject was brought up. He did a decent job of playing the strong and proud king in the play, but at the end of the day he was still just a fourteen year old boy, one that was gawky and shy. "I just didn't wanna make you uncomfortable is all."

Luan thought it so sweet and considerate of him, even though discomfort was the last thing she felt at the thought of sharing even a stage-kiss with the boy. Not that she was going to say so in such a way. "I don't mind," she assured him. "It's not like it would be a real kiss or anything. Besides, if you wanna be a serious actor, you're gonna have to get used to this sort of thing, right? Ya know, committing to your part and all that?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so…" he said timidly, though she could tell that he was coming around to her line of thinking.

"And didn't you once tell me that Billy Bob Thornton once put shards of glass in his shoes to get into character for a role?"

"Yeah, that's true…"

"So, would pretending to kiss me really be any worse than walking around on broken glass?"

He chuckled, and Luan knew she had successfully brought him over to her side. "No, I guess not. Alright, if it's okay with you than it's okay with me. What do you say? One more read through of the whole thing?"

She smiled wide and showed off her silver braces. "Yup! Let's take it from the top, shall we?"

And so they did, starting the whole play over with Benny taking Luan's critiques to heart. Through it all, Luan switched whenever necessary between whichever characters Arthur was interacting with at any given moment, and during this second rehearsal he didn't flub a single line. Though she tried to tackle each of her roles with a gusto, most of all Guinevere, she was more or less on autopilot the whole time. She couldn't help but be distracted by the ticking clock in her head that was counting down to the final scene, when they could once again give their stage kiss a try.

Finally, after an hour and a half or so, they reached the end of the play once more. "Let the lady in the lake have her accursed sword back," he said again, the anger and fury in his performance doused. From their ashes grew tenderness and longing in his tones. Definitely a marked improvement as far as Luan was concerned. "You, my lady, have a far greater prize; my undying love." _Undying._ A bit off script, but a rather nice touch.

He did as before, holding the side of her cheek with his hand and placing his thumb on her lips, only this time he did not pull away after he brought his face to hers. Instead, he made contact, holding the kiss for several seconds that to Luan felt like an eternity while somehow also being much too short for her liking. She felt the chambers of her heart fill up and twist like balloon animals, and part of her could've sworn that she felt the warmth of spotlights and the roar of an applauding audience in that moment.

It was official; she had fallen for him.

Still, something was missing. The stage-kiss was definitely no substitution for the real thing, she was certain. With that thumb blocking their lips from truly joining, the experience felt rather like a broken circuit, like a toy with a plastic tab in its battery compartment, there to prevent children from draining all of its power as they played with it as it sat on a store shelf. How she wished for Benny to pull that plastic tab free so that their two batteries could touch and generate pure energy.

He broke away and looked her deep in the eyes. "Wow…" was all he said at first, sounding amazed. Perhaps it was all that he _could_ say, though it was enough for Luan to get her hopes up. How would he finish his thought, she wondered. _'Wow Luan, that was nice and all, but I think we should give the real thing a try,'_ or even _'wow Luan, it only just occurred to me that you are the absolute prettiest girl I've ever met, in addition to being the funniest, and I think that we should kiss again and again at every chance we get…'_ The reality was, as usual, far more disappointing. _"_ …I had no idea that you were such a good dramatic actress!" He said it like their stage-kiss meant almost nothing to him.

She deflated, but near-instantly picked herself back up before he could tell. As she usually did to sometimes hide her sadder emotions, she resorted to comedy as her mask. She went to casually lay on the bed, lit a pretend cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "thank you dah-ling," in her best Marlene Dietrich impression. Which was to say a comically terrible Marlene Dietrich impression. It got a small laugh though, which was all that mattered.

"How'd you get to be so amazing, Luan?"

"Couldn't tell ya." She flicked her invisible smoke away and placed her hands behind her head, eyes closed and a self-satisfied grin on her face. "I mean, I always knew that I was _high_ -larious, but I never realized I was as adept at drama as I am at comedy. I guess I'm just even more talented than I thought, eh?"

"Well, of the two, comedy is a lot harder. That's why a lot of the best performances of all time are comedic actors doing serious roles. Like when Robin Williams did _Dead Poet's Society_."

"Hmmm…" She thought deep at the title. Something about it rang a bell to her, but she wasn't sure what. "I don't think I ever saw that one."

"Oh, you would love it! We'll add it to the list, for sure." Ah yes, the list. Ever since the first lunch they shared together, when the conversation turned towards favorite movies and actors, Benny had been compiling a list of all the movies she had never seen, seeing as she wasn't much of a film buff. It was a long list, and try as he might to whittle it down by inviting her to his home to watch some of these movies together after school and on the weekends, it always seemed to grow longer each day. Mostly because she'd feign ignorance at certain films even if she actually _had_ seen them before. A cheap trick, sure, but one that gave her lots of excuses to spend time with him and better get to know him. Even when the film wasn't to her taste, she didn't mind as long as she got to sit in the dark bedroom with Benny by her side and a bowl of popcorn between them; her riffing and cracking jokes when the acting or dialogue weren't up to snuff, him dropping little bits of interesting trivia regarding the movie's production. "But anyway, back to my point; why didn't you audition for the female lead? You'd have gotten the part for sure, instead of being wasted as the jester."

"Eh, I prefer being the comic relief," she said, trying to sound indifferent, though she too was beginning to regret her decision. She didn't even know him at that point, and didn't realize that by passing up the leading female role she would be missing out on sharing such romantic scenes with her future crush. No reason to mope about it though. In fact, she felt a song coming on. One that came from one of the first movies they shared together. "It's like Cosmo Brown said; _Make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh, doncha know everyone wants to laugh-"_

Without missing a beat he joined in and together they sang, her voice a reedy warble and his a velvety tenor. _"Oh you could study Shakespeare and be quite elite!"_

 _"And you could charm the critics and have nothing to eat!"_

 _"Just slip on a banana peel, the world's at your feet!"_

 _"Make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh, make 'em laugh!"_ They finished off the last line in unison, and following their rousing chorus they took the song's advice to heart and laughed together half in embarrassment and half out of pleasure to have somebody to share a mental wavelength with. What was it about being around him that made her want to burst into song?

"We're a couple of losers, aren't we?" he asked.

"We met doing a mime routine in a hallway, Benny. I think the answer's obvious."

"You're right, we're _obviously_ not."

"Nope! Matter of fact," she said, slinging her arm around his shoulder, "I'd say we're the coolest kids in school."

He rolled his eyes and giggled a little more before his demeanor all of a sudden turned more serious. "Hey Luan, you know how we're doing _Fiddler_ for the Spring musical?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could both audition for the lead roles. Think about it; I'd be Tevye, you'd be Golde, and together we'd totally crush it! Golde's funny, but she's also got a lot of dramatic moments too. You'd be perfect!

"In other words," a new voice said, one much deeper than Benny's, "you want her to be your wife." Benny's eyelids fell halfway and he sighed a little as he turned around to see his father at his doorway, home from work. A large and balding man in a white undershirt and jeans all flecked with paint like a sparrow's egg, he was the complete opposite of his son in terms of appearance and demeanor, not that they loved each other any less. He flashed the two kids a warm yet mischievous smile from behind his thick beard.

"Hi dad…" Benny greeted, sounding slightly annoyed. A slight blush had appeared on his cheeks at the mention of Luan as his wife, not that his father seemed to care.

"Hey Benny-buddy, hi Luan," he said, lifting his hand in a wave and shifting his attention from his son to the girl. "Got any new jokes for me today?"

"Hmmm, lemme think," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, though it was all just pantomime. In actuality, she prided herself on having a joke at the ready for any occasion, and this time was no different. "Oh, I got one! How do you drown an actress?"

"How?"

"Put a mirror at the bottom of a pool!"

He laughed hard at the joke and for so long that Luan could clearly see Benny getting a little irritated out of the corner of her eye. Luan, however, was always appreciative of a good crowd, especially one with such a merry laugh. If he and his son were opposites in terms of looks, they were perfectly matched when it came to the way they expressed joy. "That's a good one, Luan," he finally said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "You wanna stay for dinner?"

"I'd love to, thanks!"

"What're we havin'?" Benny asked.

"Spaghetti," his father answered. Seemed like almost every time she ever went over to their home it was spaghetti night. "I'm just gonna take a quick nap on the couch, then I'll fix it up. Don't you two lovebirds make too much noise now, ya hear?"

Benny's blush became furious while Luan just laughed, as did his father as he shut the door behind him and went out to the living room for his nap. As soon as he was gone, Benny turned to his friend, apologetic even though she clearly wasn't as embarrassed as he was. "Sorry about that. You know how my dad is, he thinks he's funny, but mostly he's just kinda, well…obnoxious sometimes."

"Well, I wouldn't have any idea what that must be like," she said with a self-deprecating lilt in her voice.

"Nah, you're the funniest person I know," he said with casual sincerity, like he were simply stating a fact, and Luan could feel her heart soar at the compliment. "But as I was saying; audition for Golde. You'd be amazing."

"Alright, you've twisted my arm enough," she said. She had to admit, the idea of being his wife, even if only on stage, had a certain appeal to her. It just then occurred to her how the light had changed since she first entered the room earlier that day. The ceiling lamp was still on, but one look out the window told her that night had fallen on Royal Woods over the course of their rehearsal. "It's gettin' kinda late," she said. "What do you wanna do now? Work on our mime routine for the talent show, run a few more lines…"

"Actually, I was thinking we could just relax and watch a movie."

"Sure," she agreed. "Pick out something good!"

With a happy nod he went over to the cabinet underneath his TV and opened its doors to reveal a series of shelves with a VCR and black video tapes lining them. The first time she saw his collection of movies, she didn't even know what they were, with VHS having already fallen out of fashion when she was born and going extinct entirely by the time she was conscious of the world around her. It always struck her as a bit sad that Benny had to rely on such ancient artifacts for his entertainment. "You know," she said as he searched for something to watch, "I think my family's got an old blu-ray player laying around if you want it."

"No thanks, then I'd have to switch over my whole collection," he explained. "Besides, tapes are only a quarter a piece at the thrift shop, and people always donate really good movies on VHS 'cause nobody uses 'em anymore." Before she could tell him that she'd gladly help him out with upgrading his film collection, he pulled a video from off the shelf and held it in his hands. "Oh man, _A Day at the Races_ ; a classic! What's your favorite Marx Brothers' movie, Luan?"

She had the funny feeling that he was just trying to change the subject, but she was more than willing to respect his wish. " _Duck Soup_ , duh! It's got all their best gags. The mirror scene still cracks me up no matter how many times I see it."

"Yeah, _Duck Soup_ is great, though I'm pretty partial to _Animal Crackers_ myself. Better music, ya know?" Now it was his turn to sing. " _Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the African explorer-"_

She chimed in with her best Groucho Marx impression, which was to say a near flawless Groucho Marx Impression. "Did someone call me Schnorrer?"

 _"Hooray hooray hooray!"_ he finished off, then gave a contented sigh. "Man, old comedies are the best. Not to sound like a snob or anything, but they're so much better than about ninety-nine percent of modern comedies. They don't rely on gross-out humor or fart jokes."

"Hey, don't knock fart jokes," Luan said with mock offense. "My family loves 'em. In fact, they think they're a real _gas_!" Try hard as he might to keep a stone face, she could clearly see the very edges of his mouth twitch upwards at her pun, more at her exaggerated delivery than the joke itself. "See!" she exclaimed in triumph. "You're trying not too laugh! What'd I tell ya? Fart jokes are hilarious."

"Yeah, well," he shyly began, "I guess sometimes they're okay if the right person tells them." 'The right person.' What a wonderful thing to be called. For a moment the pair of them just sat in silence, looking into each other's eyes, and there was nothing ambiguous about it now; it was Benny staring at her with such love in his gaze, not Arthur. "Luan," he said quietly, "I have a very important question to ask you."

His voice, so sincere and deliberate, was enough for her to tense up and wait with bated breath for whatever this 'very important question' could be. "What is it, Benny?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Could this be it? The moment he confessed to her that all that she felt for him, he in turn felt for her?

No. All he asked was, "Chaplin or Keaton?"

This day was full of disappointments.

She sighed. "Uh, Keaton, I guess…" she answered, unenthused, though she didn't have strong feelings one way or the other.

He stifled a gasp, almost like she had just said something deeply offensive. "Oh, come on! I mean, don't get me wrong, I like them both, but Chaplin's movies have so much more heart. Haven't you ever seen _The Kid_?"

"Uh, no…"

"Well, that settles it then," he said firmly, returning his attention to the cabinet. He rustled through its contents until he found what he was looking for, a videotape with a yellowing label with _The Kid_ handwritten on its front. He popped it in the VCR, turned on the TV, and flicked off the ceiling light, and suddenly the yellow glow of the incandescent bulb was replaced with the blue flicker of the TV set and the moonbeams that entered through the window. The moon's light reflected off of its painted twin on the wall, creating the beautiful illusion that it was from the mural that that cool glow emanated. Magic in real life. The sight of it was near enough to make her forget her discouragement.

"Hey Benny," Luan said as her friend returned to the bed to sit by her side, "I've been meaning to ask; what's with that weird painting on your wall?"

"Oh, that? My dad painted that for me as a birthday present when I turned six. It's from _A Trip to the Moon_ , the first sci-fi movie ever made. You like sci-fi, right?"

In the back of her head the high and creaky voice of Mr. Coconuts repeated a joke she once told her brother. _Science fiction is lame, and that's a science-fact!_ She doubted Benny would appreciate the line. "Yup, science-fiction is great," she said instead, a little too enthusiastically, "and that's a science-fact!"

He didn't notice anything unusual about her tone, however; he just kept staring into the soulful eye drawn on his wall, a contented smile on his face. "You know," he said, suddenly sounding wistful, "as far back as I can remember, it's pretty much just been me and my dad, ya know? I was kind of a lonely kid, without a whole lot of friends, so I kinda got really into things like old movies and plays as an escape. I even used to pretend that the moon on my wall was alive, kinda like an imaginary friend. Pretty sad, huh?"

"Nah, not at all," she said, waving her hand dismissively. Meanwhile, on the television, the staticky image of a decade-old soup commercial played, followed by a bumper announcing the broadcast version of Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece. He obviously recorded it years ago, when he was just a child. How cute little Benny must've been, she thought, staying up past his bedtime to record a movie so he could watch it whenever he wanted, probably talking to the moon on the wall all the while, sharing with it all of his secrets and hopes and dreams. "Well, okay, maybe a _little_ bit," she added, hoping that it came across as playful ribbing like she intended and not as her cruelly making fun of him for opening up. On the screen, a title card had appeared to set up the film, and it said in great white letters, " _A picture with a smile-and perhaps, a tear._ " Such a sad thought. She thought this was supposed to be a comedy.

To her relief, he giggled a little at her joke, though he did turn serious again right afterwards. "I know you like to keep things pretty lighthearted, so I don't wanna get too sappy, but I just wanted you to know that I'm really glad that we met, Luan. And I'm really happy that I have you as a friend." Then he did something no boy had ever done with her before. He rested his hand on top of hers on the surface of the bed, not gripping or holding but simply...resting it there. At once she could feel that there was love in that touch, though what kind of love it was she wasn't sure. After all, wasn't holding hands inherently a romantic act? If so, why did he call her his friend? She decided to push that anxiety from her thoughts and simply enjoy the moment for what it was. Whether it was the love of a friend or the love of somebody who wanted to be something else to her, she couldn't say. All she knew was that it was just as warm regardless.

She also knew that she'd eagerly await for the boy to send her an undeniable sign that he wanted to take their friendship further.

"I'm glad too, Benny." She was thankful for the low light so that he couldn't see her new blush. She could've stayed like that for hours, Benny and her sitting in the dark room with their hands touching, but midway through the opening scene of the film Benny let out a little gasp, rushed over to the VCR, and hit the pause button. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Sorry, but I just remembered that we still have a bag of popcorn in the kitchen cupboard, and you can't have a movie marathon without snacks! I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go microwave us a bowl." With that, he walked out the door, leaving Luan alone in the room with nobody but the frozen image of the Little Tramp on the television and the man in the moon on the wall for company.

Just like that, her hand was uncovered again, though not cold. The residual effects of Benny's touch still lingered, and she had the faint thought that once he came back with the popcorn she'd make sure to let her hand linger in the bowl so that they might make contact again.


End file.
